Gauging and sorting apparatus



May 8, 1945. c: R. RASMUSSEN A 2,375,335.

' GAUGING m) sonnm APPARATUS A Filed July :51, 1941 i4 Sheets-Sheet 1 A llWtWTO/f CJRRAsMl/ssav May 8, 1945. c. R. RASMUSSEN 2,375,385

GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July 51, 1941 14 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOI? 6. ii. RASMUSSEN TERA/E y 1945. c. R. RASMUSSEN 2,375,385

GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July 31, 1941 14 Sheets-Sheet 3 8) Z ATTORf/f May 8, 1945. c. R. RASMUSSEN 2,375,335

GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July 51, 1941 14 sheets sheet 4 INVf/VTOR CRRASMUSSL-W ar 4, KM

May 8, 1945. c. R. RASMUSSEN GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July 51, 1941 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 lM/E/VTOR I 6.19. fiAsuussm Why/ 7 A omvn y 1945. c. R, RASMUSSEN 2,375,385

GAUG I NC: AND S O RT I NG APPARATUS Filed July 31, 1941 14 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG. 8

av vnvron 62 A. RA SMUSSEA/ 2y $4M Aw y;

May 8, 1945.

c. R, RASMUSSEN 2,375,385

GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July 31, 1941 14 SheetsSheet 7 FIG. 9

m as? 883 sas M/ Vii/7'01? C. R. RA suussm y 8, 1945. c. R. RASMUSSEN 2,375,385

GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July 31, 1941 14 Sheets-Sheet 8 a m/vmm C. 1?. RAsMz/ssm [W 5y WORNEY .May s, 1945.

C. R. RASMUSSEN GAUGING AND SQR'IING APPARATUS 14 Sheets-Sheet 9 mvmra/r GRRASMUSSfN a) A Filed July 31, 1941 May 8, 1945.

C; R. RASMUSSEN GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July 31, 1941 14 Sheets-Sheet 1o INVZ-WTOR C. R. RASMUSSf/V er 4 -4 Z Ana/w y y 8, 1945. c. R. RASMUSSEN GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July" 51, 1.941 14 Sheets-Sheet 11 FIG. /3 472 y 8, 1945- c. R. RASMUSSENY 2,375,385

GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July 51, 1941 14 Sheets-Sheet 12 M/Vmrw? 6.17. RA SMUSSf/V Bf 'ZAYZI A TI'ORIVE May 8, 1945. c. R. RASMUSSEN GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS Filed July 51, 1941 14 Sheets-Sheet l3 JIVVt'I/TOA 6'. R. msuussnv a) Z34 4 mm:

May 8, 1945.

C. R. RASMUSSEN GAUGING AND SORTING APPARATUS FiledrJuly 31, 1941 14 Sheets-Sheet 14 ALI" r ORA/f) Patented May 8,1945

GAUGING AND SORTIN G APPARATUS Clarence R. Rasmussen, Berwyn, IlL, assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 31, 1941, Serial No. 404,897

Claims. (01. 164-115) This invention relates to gauging and sorting apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for sorting parts in accordance with their relative position, gauging the parts, marking the parts with gauge indicia, and sorting them in accordance with their thickness.

In the manufacture of electrical apparatus, particularly switching mechanisms, which may be of the relay type or similar types, the contact springs of the apparatus are spaced apart by insulating strips and, in some apparatus of this type, the spacing of the metallic parts is highly critical. In the manufacture of telephone switches, and particularly telephone cross bar switches, the insulating separators, which serve to spacecontactors or contact springs one from another, are set in pile-ups with insulators interleaved between the contact springs. In such pile-ups of springs and insulators, the thickness of the insulators becomes highly critical and, in the manufacture of these parts in large quanti ties, it expedites the manufacture of the apparatus appreciably if the parts are sorted so that they all face in one direction, thereby facilitating the handling of the parts. Furthermore, it materially facilitates the manufacture of the apparatus if the parts are sorted according to their I thickness and marked with indicia which indicate the thickness of the various parts.

It is an object of the present invention to facilitate the manufacture of electrical apparatus by grouping parts to be assembled in the apparatus in accordance with their position relative one to another and in accordance with their thickness.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, as applied to an apparatus for grouping and gauging rectangular strips of insulation which have been punched and cut to predetermined shapes for use in cross bar switch vertical unit assemblies, a combined sorting and gauging mechanism comprises a magazine for receiving a plurality of parts positioned haphazardly with respect one to another; that is, the parts may have one end or another in a predetermined direction and may have one side or another side in a predetermined direction. The parts are automatically picked from the bottom of the magazine by picker knives, which move them in a direction transverse to their length underlreciprocating roller feed mechanism, which tend to feed the parts transversely over a series of pockets. In the area of the apparatus where the parts are red transversely to their length, there is provided, a sensing mechanism, in the form oi zine.

a series of highly sensitive electrical switches, having their operating elements in the form of pins, which may be lowered simultaneously to engage the insulator which has been fed underneath them .by the mechanism which feeds the strips transversely of their length. When the pins which control the electrical switches are moved downwardly, one or more of them will fail to be operated due to the fact that it is positioned directly over an aperture in the strip or insulator and, accordingly, the switches control gates adjacent each of the pockets whereby, when a part being fed by the roller feed mechanism arrives at one of said gates, it will be directed by the gate into a pocket, in accordance with its relative position in the magazine with respect to the other parts or insulators stacked in the maga- Parts which drop into the pockets mentioned hereinbefore are then fed transversely of the direction of their length into stacks, being fed to the bottom of a stack through a restricted guiding passageway by reciprocating feed members.

After the parts or insulators have thus been sorted to group them in accordance with their relativeposition, thereby to facilitate the handling of them, they are deposited in a second magazine, constituting a part of the apparatus, and, in this part of the apparatus, the insulators are fed in a path similar to that described hereinbefore; that is, they are picked from the bottom of the magazine and moved transversely of their length under a sensing and notching mechanism which re'ciprocates to gauge the parts in accordance with their thickness, pins similar to those, described hereinbeforebeing utilized to actuate switches, and the pins, in turn, bein operatedby a single gauge member which will actuate one or more of the pins-to cause them to close their associated switches and control gates positioned above pockets in. a manner similar to that described in connection with the portion of the apparatus which sorted the insulators in accordance with their relative position. However, at this gauging station, there is provided a notching mechanism which selects notching knives for actuation in accordance with the thickness pf the insulator sensed and under control of the electrical switches, which also control the operation of the gates. The notching mechanism selects the notching knives at the same time that the gate to lie-operated is selected and, while holding the insulator in the causing position, causes actuation of the knives to cut gauge indicating notches in the insulators.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by reference to the following detailed detus embodying the features of the invention;

- Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows and showing details of the positioning unit in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows showing some of the details of themechanisnr for sensing the insulator at the positioning sta-- tion;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 in the direction of,

the arrows and showing some of the details of the mechanism for transferring an insulator from the magazine at the positioning station,

the arrows showing some details of the drive mechanism and of the transfer mechanism for. transferring parts from the magazine at the gauging station into position under the gauging mechanism;

Fig. I is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of the apparatus adjacent the gauging station, taken substantially sectional view taken along the line -l"5''-l5 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows and showing details of the transferring mechanism for transferring sorted insulators from the pocketsinto the stacking devices adjacent to each of said pockets;

Figs. 16 to 22, inclusive, are fragmentary views in plan of the parts which may be sorted in the apparatus showing on each of the parts the marking applied thereto to distinguishthem one from another;

Fig. 23 is a circuit diagram showing the control circuits for the various solenoid operated mechanisms of the apparatus; and

Fig. 24 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken on the line 2424 of Fig. 7 in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate the same parts throughout the several views, particular reference being had at this time to Figs. 1 and 2, which show, on a small scale, all of the apparatus located in its proper relative position and to which reference will be had for the purpose of describing briefly the general assemblies provided within the apparatus and which are shown in greater detail in the other views. This rather brief description of the parts will, it is believed,

' facilitate the understanding of the more dealong the line 1-1 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows and showing the drive for the feeding rollers, and for a brushing unit provided at that station;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, irregular sectional view through the sensing mechanism at the gauging station showing some of the parts in elevation;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 9-.-9 of Fig. 8 in the direction of in the direction of the arrows, but being irregu-' lar in showing some of the details in elevation and others in section at the spaced portions of v the. mechanism; Figs. 11 and 12 are enlarged views showing the gates for feeding the insulators into the various pocketsand are taken substantially along the lines llll and l2-l2, respectively, of Fig. 2, these figures showing, on a much larger scale,

and in more detail, some of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1; r

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through a portion of the mechanism at the gauging station substantially along the line l3l' 3 of Fig. 2 in'the direction of the arrows and showing details of the drive and operating mechanisms at that station Fig. 14 is a detail sectional view taken along the line 15- of Fig. 2 showing the details of. the transfer mechanism for transferring parts from the magazine to the initial feeding mecha- I nism which moves them into p'ositionto be transferred under the gaugin mechanism;

Fig. 15 is a transverse fragmentary vertical tailed views, which will be described hereinafter.

In Fig. 1, there are shown two magazines 30 and 3|, in which insulators 32 to 38, inclusive, as shown in Figs, 16 'to 22, inclusive, may be inserted to be sorted by the apparatus. 'I'he'insulators 32 to 38, inclusive, are of the same general contour and all have the same number of holes in them for assembling them in cross bar switch units and only one of them will be de- The insulator 32 has a pluscribed in detail. rality of screw holes 39-39 formed in it whereby the insulators may be secured in the apparatus. To aid in assembling the contact springs and insulators, fixture receiving apertures 40 are also formed in the insulators, as well as a rectangular aperture 4| and square notches 42, whereby springs may be attached to the insulator. It should be noted that the aperture 4| is closer to one edge of the insulator than the other. The V-shaped notches designated 43 constitute indicia for indicating the thickness of the insulator and are formed bythe apparatus which is described herein. These V-shaped notches, as will -be apparent from a consideration of Figs. 16 to 22, inclusive, are placed at an edge of the insulator in varying number and in various positions for the purpose to be described more in detail hereinafter. I I

In the rear portion of the machine, as viewed in Fig. 1 (the upper portion Fig. 2), there is shown the positioning unit, designated by the numeral 50, which serves to sort the insulators in accordance with the position they are in when they are placed in the magazine 30. The positioning unit 50 includes the magazine 30, from which insulators are withdrawn, one at a time. by a transfer mechanism 5|, and transferred to a position determiningassembly 52. The insulators, are transferred from the assembly 52 to one termining assembly 52.

rives at its selected receiving station, it will be of a series of selectable receiving stations 53 to 51, inclusive, under controllof the'position de- After an insulator artransferred from the receiving station to stackingunits 58 to 62, inclusive,'asso'ciated with the receiving stations 53 to 51, respectively. After the insulators have been sorted in the positioning unit, they may be transferred by hand to the unit.

Insulators which have been placed in the magazine 3| are picked therefrom one at a time by a transfer mechanism 13, which feeds them transversely of their length to a pick-up roller 14, which moves them lengthwise under a cleaninggmechanism to a second transfer mecha nism 16. The transfer mechanism 16 again moves the insulator transversely of its length to position under a gauging unit assembly 11, where the part is gauged for thickness and then fed to one of a plurality of receiving stations 18 to 84, inclusive, from which the insulators will*-be transferred to one of a plurality of stacking units 85 to 3|, inclusive, associated with the receiving stations 13 to 84, respectively.

With this general description of the various parts of the apparatus and their location as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 in mind, the various assemblies and units which make up the apparatus will now be described in detail in the sequence in which the various parts of the apparatus perform their operations,

Before describing the details of the various sub-assemblies of the apparatus, it should be noted that, as most clearly shown in Fig. 1, the entire apparatus is mounted upon suitable standards 35 and 36, which support a main base 31 on the underside of which, in turn, there are suspended various drive mechanisms, cams and other driving instrumentalities, as will be described more in detail hereinafter. Extending upwardly from the main base plate 31 are the receiving stations of the positioning unit and the gauging unit, which have been described generally hereinbefore, as well as the position determining assembly 52 and the gauging unit assembly 11. In this construction, most of the moving parts of the apparatus are beneath the main base plate 31, whereas the stacking units are above the base plate, and are readily accessible. Power for driving the operating parts of the apparatus may be derived from any suitable source (not shown) for driving the various cam shafts and feeding devices in the apparatus.

The magazines 30 and 3| are of exactly the same construction, the magazine 30 being slightly shorter than the magazine 3| and differing from magazine 3|, which forms part of the gauging upwardly to a point near the top of the angle members 38 and 33 and is secured to them. The magazine 30is of the same construction as the magazine 3I and, therefore, need not be described in detail, it being sufficient to state that the magazine 30 is, as pointed out hereinbefore, shorter than the magazine 3| and the magazine 30 is mounted on a secondary base member I06 (Fig. 5) which is slightly above the base member 31 and is suitably supported therefrom. At the positioning unit magazine 30, there areprovided a pair of supporting blocks H4 and H5, which, as shown in Fig. 5, support a magazine base II6,

. onto which the insulators will drop when they the magazine 3| only in this feature. Accordingly, only one of the magazines has been shown in full detail and this is the magazine 3| for the gauging unit. As most clearly shown in Figs. 12 and 14, the magazine 3| includes a pair of angle members 38 and 33 extending upwardly from the main base plate 31 and positioned with their flanges extending outwardly from the center of the magazine. The angle members 38 and 33 are provided with a plurality of slots I00, IN and I02 for receiving a retaining plate I 03, which may be positioned in the slots I00, the slots II, or the slots I02, depending upon the width of the insulator which is being sorted. The retaining plate I03 is cut out, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1, at I04 so that parts may be more readily placed in the magazine and need not be dropped all the way from the top of the magazine to the bottom thereof, thereby to make it easier to insert the parts in the magazine. The angle members 38 and 33 (Fig. 1) constitute the sides of the magazine and the retaining plate I 83 forms the front thereof, whereas the back of the magazine comprises a plate III, which extends are placed in the magazine. The base II6 has slots I I1 and I I8 formed in it to provide ,a tongue portion I I3 for supporting and guiding a transfer slide, designated generally by the numeral I20. The transfer slide I is formed of two plates I2I and I 22 (Fig. 14) interconnected by means of bolts I23 and I24. The bolts I23 and I24 extend through slots I25 and I26 in the plate I2I so that the plate I2| may be adjusted on the plate I22 to set the plate I2I so that it will pick off one insulator from the bottom of a stack of insulators in the magazine or 3|, depending upon which magazine the parts are positioned in. The plate I22 has fixed to it an arm I21, which, as may be seen by reference to Figs. 5 and 14, has a cam slot I28 formed in it for receiving a Pin I23 on the end of a cam lever I30. From this point on, the description will be confined to the positioning unit until the description of this unit has been completed. The arm I30 is oscillatable about an oscillatable shaft I3I, journalled in a bearing plate I32 (Fig. 5) and a second bearing plate I33 (Fig. 11). The shaft I3I serves as an actuator for the transfer arms at the stacking assemblies of the positioning unit and is driven by ca'm I34 (Fig. 5). Cams I34 and I35 are mounted on a cam shaft I36 driven from any suitable power source (not shown) and mounted in the bearing plate I32 and a bearing plate I31. The cams I34 and I35 are provided with suitable cam grooves in which cam rollers I38 and I33 extend.- The cam roller I39 is fixed to an actuator arm I40, which is, in turn, fixed to the shaft I 3|, and the cam roller I38 is mounted on an actuator arm I4I, which is oscillatable about the shaft I 3|, being fixed to a sleeve I42 to which .the arm I30 is also attached. In this manner, the shaft I3I is oscillated by the cam I34 and at a different time from the time of oscillation thereof, the arm I30, sleeve I42 and actuator arm I4I may be oscillated about the shaft I3I by the cam I35 to properly time the feeding of the insulators through the apparatus.

There is also mounted on the cam shaft I36 a cam I (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) which serves to reciprocate the position determining unit 52 vertically. The cam I55 is provided with a suitable groove in which a cam roller I56 rides and the cam roller I58 is mounted on the lower end of a vertically reciprocable rod I51, which slides in a sleeve member I58 mounted on the secondary base plate I06. The sleeve I58 extends downwardlythrough the plate I 06, and upwardly beyond the plate I06 to form a rigid guide for the rod I51, which is provided with a shoulder I53 against which a compression spring I60 bears. The compression spring I encircles the rod I51 and abuts the shoulder I53 and a shouldered portion III on the sleeve member I58, whereby the rod I51 is, normally urged downwardly to cause the bottom of the roller I58 to bear on the inner surface-of the cam groove formed in the cam I55. The positiomdetermining assembly 52 is mounted on the upper end ofthe rod I51, being secured thereto by means of a set screw I10, which is threaded in a rear portion I'll of the assembly and engages a flattened area I12 of the rod I51. A key member I13 serves to prevent the assembly 52 from rotating on the rod I51.

The upper end of the rear portion I1I carries a series of four highly sensitive electrical switches I14-I14, which are suitably mounted on the portion I1 I, and which have extending from them switch operating pins I15-I15. The front face of the rear portion "I has a U-shaped supporting block I15 fixed to it with the legs of the block I extending horizontally. The block is provided with aligned apertures in its horizontally disposed portions for receiving sensing pins I11, I19, I19 and I80, which have tapered lower extremities and which are provided with head portions I8I, I82, I83 and I84, respectively, for engaging insulators positioned beneath them to determine the presence or absence of holes in the insulator in the area thereof associated with the lower extremities of the sensing pins. The U-' shaped member I has extending'upwardly from it side'portions I90 and I9] (Fig. 3), which serve to support a pivot rod I92. The pivot rod I92 has pivotally mounted upon it four bell cranks I93, I94, I95 and I99, the horizontal portions of which are each equipped with hardened pin engaging abutments I91-I91,'and the vertically extending portions of which are each equipped with adjustable pin engaging threaded members I98-I98 (Figs. 3 and 4), which may beadjusted with respect to the vertical arm of their respective bell cranks and may be locked in place by lock nuts I99-I99. Positioned substantially in vertical alignment with the abutments I91 are a plurality of headed pins 200 (Figs. 3 and 4') each of which is seated in a shouldered aperture I in a cross member 202, The cross member 202 is attached to the side portions I90 and I9I by means of machine screws 203-203 and has, in its apertures 20I, springs 204, which are 'held therein by threaded blocks 205 threaded in the cross member 202. Thus, each of the bell cranks I93, I94, I95 and I96 is urged in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 4) about the pivot rod I92 to hold the headed pins I11, I18, I19 and I80,

respectively, in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

'Resiliently mounted on the underside of the U-shaped member I16 is a retaining pad 2I5, which has apertures in it in alignment with the sensing pins I11, I18, I19 and I80 so that the pins 'may freely pass through the retaining pad. The retaining pad is mounted on the ends of shouldered rods 2I9-2I5, being held against shoulders 2I1 formed thereon by riveting the lower reduced portions of the rods 2I6, as shown at 2I8. The rods 2I6 are freely slidable in the two arms of the U-shaped member I18 and are urged downwardly by compression springs 2I9- 2I9, which engage sleeves 2I0-2I0 fixed in the. upper leg of the U-shaped member I15 and a collar 2 II fixed to each rod M6 by means of pins From the foregoing, it is believed to be apparent that an insulator which has been transierred from the magazine to position under the position determining assembly "52 will, when the rod I51 is moved downwardly, be gripped by the retaining pad 2I5 in position beneath the sensing pins I11, I18, I19 and I80, which, upon further downward movement of the rod I51, will In this manner, the position of the insulator under the position determining assembly will be determined and indicated electrically.

Actuation of the switch operating pins I15 will complete circuits, to be described hereinafter in connection with the'operation of the apparatus, for selectively closing solenoid actuated gates 220-220 (Figs. 11 and .12) at the receiving st-ations 53, 54, 55 or 56, depending upon the position of the insulator under the position determining assembly 52. As soon as the circuits controlling the solenoid actuated gates 220 are completed, the rod I51 will move upwardly to release the insulator from the retaining pad 2I5 and as soon as the insulator under the pad 2I5 is released thereby, a cam 22I (Fig. 5) will actuate an associated cam roller 222 mounted on a cam arm 223 and cause the cam arm 223, which is in the form of a bellcrank, to move a link 224 upwardly. The link 224 engages and actuates a roller supporting lever 225 and, when the link 224 is moved upwardly, the roller supporting lever 225 will be rocked counter-clockwise (Fig. 5)

about a'pivot bolt 225 to carry a feed roller 221 upwardly, thereby to grip an end of the insulator between the roller 221 and a constantly rotating roller'228. The roller 228 is driven in a clockwise direction (Fig. 5) by a belt 229 (Fig. 2), which is constantly driven in the direction indicated by the arrow 230 by any suitable power means (not shown). The belt 229 passes under a drive wheel 23I mounted on a shaft 232, which carries the roller 228 and is journalled in a journal sleeve 233 (Fig. 2) suitably secured in the framework of the apparatus. The belt 229 passes under suitable idlers and over the tops of drive wheels 234-234 for driving feed rollers 235-235 positioned throughout the length of the apparatus, as illustrated in Fig.2, and the belt is directed under idler rollers (not shown) so that power will be transmitted to all of the feed rollers 235 in the proper direction. It should be noted that, at this time, the belt 229, which drives the'feed rollers for the positioning unit, is also deflected downwardly in a conventional manner over suitable guide rollers (not shown) to drive the sets of rollers 236 in the gauging unit portion of the ma-, chine, it being understood that the rollers in the gauging unit are mounted on shafts 231 (Fig. 5) and are driven in the proper direction to feed insulators between them to the various receivin stations in the apparatus.

A consideration of Figs. ll, 12 and 15 will dis-.

roller system and the feed rollers 236 cooperating with feed rollers 242 at alternate places feed rollers 24! and 242 are mounted on the ends of shafts 243 and 244, respectively, (Fig. 15) which are journalled in journal sleeves 245 and 246, and carry driving pulleys or wheels 24! and 248, respectively.

It is believed to be apparent, from the foregoing, that if it be assumed that all of the solenoid actuated gates 228 are in the opposite position from the position in which they are shown in Figs. 11 and 12, that is, in their closed positions, an insulator, which has been started on its travel to the receiving stations by being gripped by the feed roller 22'! and feed roller 228, will be carried along on top of the gates 228 until it reaches the last receiving station in the line of receiving stations, at which position it will be deflected into station 51 if the insulator is travelling through the positioning portion of the machine, due to the provision of a deflecting member 258 in the last or left-hand (Figs. 1 and 11) receiving station. The member 258 will deflect the insulator on to a transfer bed 25!, from which it will be transferred to its associated stacking unit 58 to 62 in the positioning mechanism or stacking 'unit 85 to 9! in the gauging portion of the machine. The con struction of the apparatus at each of the receiving stations and stacking units is exactly the same and only the receiving stations 54 and 88, stacking units 59 and 8'! and receiving stations 54 and 88, which are shown in Fig. 15, will be described in detail. The transfer bed 25! and a similar transfer bed 252, in each of the receiving stations 18 to 84, inclusive, are formed integrally with stacking unit base members 263 and 264, respectively. These stacking units are shown in cross section in Fig. 15 and are shown in clot and dash lines in Figs. 11 and 12, where only a portion of them are disclosed to show more clearly the portion of the apparatus directly behind them. Each of the transfer beds 25! and 252 have slots 265 and 266, respectively formed in them to receive the upwardly extending portions of transfer arms 26! and 268 (Fig. 15), respectively, whereby the transfer arms may transfer a part deposited. on

the transfer bed from the transfer bed to its associated stacking unit. The transfer arms 26'! and 268 are mounted on rock shafts or oscillat-- driven cam shaft 216 driven by the same source.

as shaft I35.

The stacking units are all of identical con struction and only the stacking unit 8'! (Fig. 15) will be described in detail. Thisstacking unit includes the base member 264, which is detach.- ably mounted on the main base plate 91. -Secured to the stacking unit base member 264 are a pair of upright members 288 and 28! (Fig.- 2), each having slots 282, 283 and 284 (Fig. 15) formed in them for receiving a front plate 285, which may beposit'ioned in any one of the three pairs of slots, depending upon the width of the insulators being sorted. The plate 285 has its front portion cut away, as shown-at 286 (Fig. 1), to facilitate removal of the sorted insulators I throughout the gauging feed roller system. The

from the stacking unit. Set into the stacking unit base member 264 is a guide plate 281 having its right end (Fig. 15) tapered downwardly so that an insulator on the transfer bed 252 may be moved by th transfer arm 268 under the bottom insulator in a stack of insulators resting on the glide plate 281. The rear plate 288 of the stacking unit, which is secured to the upright members 288 and 28!, terminates at the point shown at 289, to permit the passage, under it, of an insulator moved by the transfer arms 268. Each of the stacking units, as pointed out hereinbefore, is a separate unit mounted on the main base plate 9! or the secondary base member !86 and may be removed to permit servicing of the mechanism clue to the fact that the stacking unit base member 264 has an aperture 298 cut in it through which a headed thumb nut 29! may extend, the bottom of the thumb nut being threaded into the main base plate 9'! and the shank thereof extending through the aperture 298 so that the stacking unit will be held in place by the clamping action of the head of the threaded member 29!.

At each of the receiving stations 53 to 58 and 18 to 83, there is provided an electromagnet 388, 38!, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 381, 388 and 389 (Fig. 23), respectively, for actuating the gate 228 at that station. As most clearly shown in Figs. 12 and 15, the electromagnets or solenoids 388 to 389 have pull rods 3!8 associated with their armatures. Since all of these mechanisms are of the same construction, onlythe electromagnet 386 and its associated apparatus will be described in detail, it being understood that the pull rods 3!8 associated with the electromagnets in the position determining or sorting sectionof the machine are somewhat longer than the pull rods 3!8 in the gauging portion of t e machine, due to the fact that all of the electromagnets are mounted on the underside of'the base plate 91. It should be noted, at this time, that there is no electromagnet provided at receiving station 84 or the receiving station 51, since there is no gate 228 at either of these stations and parts which are defective, because they hav the wrong number of holes in them or because they are oversize, drop into the receiving stations 5! and 84. The upper ends oi' the pull' rods 3!8 are connected to levers 3, which are fixed to stud shafts 3l2 extending through the plates 3! 3 and 3! 4, which form a back portion for the runway along which the articles are fed and which, also serve as supports for the bearing sleeves 233 and 248. The left ends of the shafts 3! 2 (Fig. 15) are fixed to the gates 228 and, accordingly, upon energization of an associated electromagnet, the gate .228, at that station, will be closed or moved from the position shown in Figs. 11 and 12 to a position where parts directed by feeding rollers 236 or 228 will pass over the top of the gate 228. In this manner, when an electromagnet at a predetermined station is energized under control-of the highly sensitive switches "4, for example. the article sensed by the position determining assemfrom 388 to 383 have been energized.

As clearly shown in Fig-15, the electromagnets 38! and 386 are provided with pileups of springcontacts 3! 5 and 3l6, whereby the'solenoids will-be locked in their energized position over a circuit (Fig. 23) to a main control switch 3!!. In a similar manner to that shown in Fig.

15, each of the electromagnets 333,302, and 333 to 3119, inclusive are provided with contact pileups 318 to 326, respectively. In the operation of the circuit, as shown in Fig. 23, grounded battery at 321 is connected through main control switch 3t! to the group of switches I14 and when any of the 3 tacts M6, 318, 319 and/or 320 until switch 311 is opened; The switch 311 is operated cyclically in the operation of the apparatus by a cam lever 328, as shown in Fig. 14. The cam lever 323 carries a cam roller 323 and rides in cam groove 33!! of a cam 33!. There are provided two other cam rollers 332 and 333, similar to cam roller 323 which control levers similar to lever 328 for closing switches 33B and 335. The function of the switches 334 and 335 will become apparent as the description progresses.

The apparatus at gauging unit assembly 11 is quite similar to that in the position determining assembly 52 in that the insulators 32 to 33 are drawn from a magazine 3! and directed to the receiving stations 18 to 84 and stacked in the stacking units 85 to 31 in the same manner that they are fed' to the receiving stations 53 to 51 and stacked in the stacking units 53 to 62 in the position determining portion of the apparatus. However, in the gauging unit assembly, the parts are both gauged and marked with indicia in accordance with their thickness. In this portion of the apparatus, as most clearly illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 1G, 11, 13 and'14, the insulators are transferred from the magazine 31 by the transfer mechanism 13 and guided into position; that is, the transfer slide 120 and a similar transfer slide 348 in the second transfer mechanism 15 (Fig. are actuated by cam pins !23 (Fig. 14) and 343 (Fig. 10) on the end of cam levers 3 and 35m. The lever 345 is fixed to an oscillatable sleeve 35! (Figs. 6 and 13) and the cam lever 350 is fixed to an oscillatable sleeve 352. These two sleeves 35l and 352 are interconnected by means of a spring 353, which surrounds enlarged portions of them and is fixed to the enlarged portions of them whereby when the sleeve 35! is oscillated; the sleeve 352 will tend to move with it. Oscillation is imparted to the sleeve 35! by a cam lever 354 (Figs. 6 and 14), which is fixed to the sleeve 35!, and carries at its free end a cam roller 346, riding in the groove of a cam. 355; The cam 355 is mounted upon the cam shaft 215, which is driven by a sprocket 356 from a suitable power source.

Formed on the abutting faces of the enlarged portions of thesleeves 35! and 352 are cooperating clutch teeth whereby the sleeve 35!, on returning to normal position, will positively drive the sleeve 352 to normal position if the sleeve 352 has been driven to feed a part through the spring 353.

The sleeves 35! and 352 are oscillatable about the shaft 21! and have their cam levers 345 and 350 clamped onthem, as-clearly shown in Figs. 6 and An insulator which has been picked from the magazine 3! and fed toward the rear of the machine by the transfer slide 120, will be moved into position beneath the pickup roller 14 which, as most clearly shown in Fig. 'l, is m'oimted on a plate 351 forming a part of the gauging unit assembly 11. Plate 351 also carriesa teed roller 353, and plate 351, being carried by the gaug unit as- 9! and is connected at itslower end to a bell sembly 11, will be moved up and down at predetermined times in the cycle of operation of the machine, as will be described more in detail hereinafter, to carry the rollers 14 and 358 into engagement with the parts or insulators which are at. that time in alignment with the feed rollers. The feed rollers 14 and 358 are idler rollers and cooperate with positively driven rollers 353 and 353, respectively. The feed rollers 35! and 355 are driven by a belt 351', which passes around suit able idlers, as shown in Fig. '1, and engages driving drums 362' and 353 interconnected with the feed rollers 353 and 353 by shafts 354' and 355, respectively. As most clearly shown in Fig. '1,

idler rollers 355 and 351 are mounted on stud shafts 353 and 363, respectively, fixed to a front plate 313, whereas idler roller 31! is mounted upon a plate 312. adjustable about a principal drive shaft 313, to serve as a. tensioning mechanism. The plate 312 may be locked in various positions by means of a locln'ng member 314 extending through a slot 315 in-the plate 312' and being fixed to a hearing plate 316.

The shaft 313 has a sprocket 311 mounted upon it and adapted to be driven by a chain 318, driven from the main power source of the apparatus (not shown). The belt 35! serves to drive feed rollers 353 and 350 and also drives a feed roller 319 through a connecting shaft 380, a driving drum 33! and, in addition, the belt through driving drums 332 and 383 drives shafts 384 and 385; respectively. to which there are secured brushes 385 and 381. It should be noted that the brushes 385 and 381 are driven in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation of the feed rollers in this portion of the machine so that any accumulation of dust or foreign matter on the parts is removed from them before they are sent to the gau ing station of the apparatus. Suitable ex-' haust means (not shown) is provided at this portion of the apparatus for withdrawing the foreign matter brushed from the insulators during their passage between the brushes 386 and 331. The mechanism just described will lead an insulator which has been removed from the magazine 3! and advanced by feed rollers 14 and 358 to the second transfer mechanism 16, where the insulator will be moved up against a stop 338 (Fig. '1) in position to be transferred by the second transfer mechanism 16 under the ga g'unitassembly 11. The details of the second transfer mechanism 16 are of exactly the same construction as described in connection with the first transfer mechanism 13 and any part which is moved into position against the stop 338 will, at a predetermined time in the cycle of the machine, be transferred by the second transfer mechanism into position under the gauging unit assembly 11.

The roller 313 is movable into and out of position to engage and feed an insulator from the gauging unit assembly 11 after the insulator is gauged, the roller 313 being mounted on the end of a lever 39! (Figs, '1 and 10) pivoted at 332 and articulated intermediate its ends at 333 to a push rod 394. The push rod 394 slides in a'bearin member 395 mounted on the underside of base crank lever 335, carryinga cam roller 331 riding in a suitable groove ass-m a cam 333.

The gauging unit assembly 11 is movable vertically as a unit, being supported for movement on a frame member 403, which comprises a frame work made up of a rear plate 45!, side plates 432 and 403 (Fig. 9) formed into a unitary structure and carrying trunnion bearings 454 and 405, 

